The NCAA recently filed a lawsuit against DraftKings, claiming the company illegally used the association’s trademarks.
The organization’s legal team filed the complaint in Indianapolis. They seek a temporary restraining order to block the sportsbook from trademarked terms.
The NCAA trademarked several terms relating to the men’s and women’s basketball tournament. For example, the organization owns the right to be “March Madness” and “Final Four.”
In the lawsuit, the association’s legal team argued unauthorized use of the trademarks run contrary to the group’s beliefs. NCAA officials don’t want sports betting associated with, endorsed by, or linked to college athletics.
“The NCAA makes clear in the complaint and its motion that every day that DraftKings continues to use these marks, millions of sports fans – and, critically, college students and young adults who are particularly susceptible to gambling harm – are exposed to the false suggestion that the association has authorized or endorsed DraftKings’ gambling platform,” NCAA officials said.
NCAA Wants Distance From Sports Betting
Officials from the NCAA said the use of its trademarks can cause confusion with member universities and athletes.
They argued that DraftKings’ use of the phrases give the appearance the NCAA is involved with sports betting.
“The NCAA does not have any commercial relationships with any sportsbooks of any kind and continues to uphold a strict prohibition on advertising and sponsorships associated with betting,” the organization said.
In the filing, the NCAA said the suit is crucial to protecting game integrity. Moreover, they claimed it helps protect the well-being of athletes.
DraftKings Argues Free Speech Protections
Despite the allegations, DraftKings denied it infringed on NCAA trademarks and said the sports betting operator uses the terms only for informational purposes.
“DraftKings does not use the term ‘March Madness’ as a trademark but rather uses it in plain text and as a fair use in the same manner that other tournaments are displayed, such as the NIT, in order to accurately identify the different tournaments and their respective games,” a spokesperson told ESPN.
“This is protected speech under the First Amendment and is not a violation of any brand’s trademark. We are confident that the courts will deny this request for an injunction.”
College sports have faced several sports betting scandals over the last few years. Recently, an alleged match-fixing scheme involving 26 college basketball players came to light. Charges include wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and bribery in sports.
Consequently, the NCAA is making efforts to ban prop betting on college sports.
However, the group has shown flashes of lightening its stance on student-athlete betting. In November, the NCAA reversed a previous decision that would have allowed athletes and staff members to wager on pro sports.
